Not upheld: mis-selling and valuation process conduct complaint against Just Retirement Limited trading as Just

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H's estate complained that a lifetime mortgage taken out in 2007 was mis-sold because Mr H had been bereaved and lacked mental capacity to make such decisions. The estate also objected to Just's 2024 proposal to revalue the property, claiming the fee was excessive and correspondence was inappropriately sent to Mr H given his medical situation and the existence of Attorneys. The Ombudsman found the mis-selling complaint fell outside FOS jurisdiction due to late notification. Regarding the valuation, the Ombudsman concluded Just acted reasonably by halting the revaluation once informed of Mr H's medical situation and that Just could not be faulted for initial correspondence sent before it was aware of his vulnerability.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Just's proposal to revalue the property was not unreasonable as lifetime mortgage lenders routinely check property status and value. The Ombudsman concluded that Just acted reasonably by halting the revaluation once informed of Mr H's medical situation and vulnerability. The Ombudsman could not find Just acted wrongly in sending initial valuation letters as Just was not aware of Mr H's medical situation at that time. The mis-selling complaint fell outside FOS jurisdiction due to being raised too late.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website